The Perception of the Other in History Textbooks of the Second Constitutional Era

Abstract

One of the most influential disciplines in the construction of the "other" in collective memory is history. Through the discipline of history, a nation's perception of friends and enemies emerges. Individuals come to perceive the "Other" as an external element through the representations presented in history textbooks. As in the histories of all nations around the world, the concept of the "Other" is also present in Turkish history. In Turkish historiography, the "Other" is often perceived as a threat and typically refers to non-Muslim states and communities located beyond national borders. In Ottoman historiography, the "Other" appears in two primary domains: the East and the West. The West represents Christianity, while the East includes those who were seen as obstructing the Ottoman efforts to establish Islamic unity. Following the re-proclamation of the constitutional monarchy in 1908, history textbooks were rewritten with the mission of cultivating citizens in line with the official state ideology. During this period, influenced by the wars in which the Ottoman Empire was involved, an ideological discourse emerged in history textbooks, structured around the dichotomy of "us" versus "them." In a sense, the division between "us" and the "Other" was further deepened through these educational materials. This study aims to examine how the Ottoman Empire during the Second Constitutional Era perceived the states and nations it identified as the "Other," based on an analysis of primary school history textbooks. The research was designed as a historical case study, which is one of the qualitative research designs. The data were collected through document analysis of primary-level history textbooks used during the Second Constitutional Era, including Resimli Küçük Tarih-i Osmani, Muhtasar Tarih-i Umumi, Resimli ve Haritalı Küçük Tarih-i Osmani, Muhtasar Tarih-i Umumi, Küçük Tarih-i Osmani veÇocuklara Tarih Dersleri. The collected data were analyzed using content analysis. As a result of the study, six main categories of "Otherness" were identified, each with corresponding themes: The Threatening and Dangerous Other, The Untrustworthy Other, The Negative Socioeconomically Other, The Colonial and Opportunistic Other, The Civilized and Developed Other, The Rival and Differently Identified Other. In school textbooks, Western states are depicted through negative themes such as opportunism, colonialism, hypocrisy, and attempts to partition the Ottoman Empire, whereas Eastern-origin polities such as Iran, the Akkoyunlular, Karamanoğulları, and Timurlular are represented with similarly pejorative attributes, including aggression, provocation, sedition, intrigue, and cruelty. By contrast, the Ottoman Empire is portrayed as a victimized yet just and powerful imperial entity.